The filmmaker turns 49 today

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was born on July 7, 1963 and will complete 49 years of his life today. It’s been a long journey for the filmmaker in the entertainment business.

Rakeysh was a salesman before he founded his own advertising company and turned ad filmmaker. He created a name for himself and impressed several B-towners whom he directed in the 15 years that he made advertisements. He fulfilled his dream of being a feature filmmaker with Aks in 2001. The film was radically different from the typical clichéd Bollywood movie and had critics taking special notice. Five years later, his second film Rang De Basanti hit the theatres. RDB took the nation by storm and heralded the fight against corruption. Suddenly it was cool to rebel, to want to change the way the government functioned. RDB won Rakeysh the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.

Rakeysh’s third film Delhi-6 won another National Film Award – the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. He is currently working on Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a biopic on the life of the Olympian athlete Milkha Singh and stars Farhan Akhtar in the title role. We won’t be surprised if Rakeysh scores a hattrick with BMB winning him another National Film Award!